This Q&A concerns the question of what really happens when you cremate your dog. 

Question

Dear Glynne,
When a dog is cremated and her ashes are returned to you in an urn, is it really your dog? I was told that all dead dogs are cremated together and you are not sure if the ash is truly that of your beloved pet. As far as I know, bones do not burn and need to be crushed. Is this done and is this part of the remains you will have in the urn?

Hi Linda
This is such an interesting question & one I have never been asked in all my years of giving answers!
Now for your question. I think the answer will depend on who undertook the cremation and how honest they are!
Yes, I do know some dogs, especially at animal shelters are cremated en masse because of the expense of running a furnace.
Now horror of horrors, I also know some unscrupulous businesses dispose of the pets’ bodies at city land-fills, and then claim themselves a nice fat fee for a fancy urn filled with ash.
As for bones burning, yes they do burn if they are heated to a high enough temperature and a good supply of air is provided - this is basically what happens when a human body is cremated and also occurs when an amputated limb is disposed of in a hospital incinerator.

The most difficult parts to destroy by burning are in fact the teeth… and even after the rest of the body has been reduced to ash the teeth may survive which may also yield DNA.
During cremation, a human corpse is burned at around 1,700 degrees for two to four hours—the fleshier the person, the longer it takes to cremate the body. After incineration, the remaining bone fragments are ground up into a substance with the consistency of powder. (The powder might include larger bits of bone that didn’t get ground down completely.) The final remnants are known as ashes or cremains.
Now I think the question you need to ask is, can your doggie funeral parlor be trusted to follow that procedure and not take very tempting short cuts ?!
Great question
Glynne